DRAGON QUEST TREASURES

Review

Dragon Quest Treasures was originally released in 2022 exclusively for Nintendo Switch and it’s now finally available on PC (Steam). The game stars Eric and his sister Mia, two well-known characters from Dragon Quest XI (one of the best titles in the main JRPG series), and acts as a prequel, but can also be considered a spin-off since everything that happens here has no connection with the main title, so it can be played by anyone. After being raised by Viking pirates and encountering two bizarre creatures (Porcus and Purrsula), Erik and Mia decide to go treasure-hunting and discover two magical daggers that teleport them into a new world called Draconia. Here, the two are tasked with retrieving the Seven Dragonstones (exactly like in Dragon Ball) by exploring five different islands and collecting every hidden treasure on their way.

As you can probably imagine at this point, the plot is just a narrative to justify the spin-off nature of the game. It’s a self-contained story in the lives of Erik and Mia that doesn’t get mentioned in DQXI, so it doesn’t add anything to the general plotline and even die-hard fans might find it not interesting enough, despite all the fan service present. The good news is that Treasures shares the same universe, artistically speaking. Akira Toriyama’s visual style is evident, with environments, monster design and even a couple soundtracks that seem to be taken straight from DQXI (and perhaps they are).

Gameplay-wise, this is essentially a hack-and-slash RPG mixed with Pokémon. You will have a long list of main and secondary missions (the latter being more like boring fetch quests) that will give you the chance to explore all the five islands of Draconia within a semi open world structure. You are free to explore them in any order, but it’s best to avoid some initially because of the high-level monsters, though nothing stops you from trying. Each island features different biomes and monsters, so there is certainly enough variety.

The game is aimed at very young players, not only for the two young protagonists, but for the simplicity and easiness of the action RPG mechanics. During exploration and battle you can control either Erik or Mia and attack monsters in real time through a pretty shallow combat system that will make you spam the same buttons endlessly. After defeating them, you can recruit the monsters at your base by offering the required materials. Collecting and recruiting more monsters is essential to the gameplay, as each one has unique abilities that will make fighting, traversing the map and discovering treasures much easier, since you can directly sense the loot through their eyes. During battles, they are guided by the AI and deal even more damage than the two siblings. Plus, the monsters not included in your party can be sent on expeditions to retrieve more treasures for you. These will increase your treasure hunting rank and make the story progress further while also giving you the chance to expand your base.

The PC port runs exceptionally well (despite the presence of Denuvo), with unlocked framerate and higher resolution options. Visually, it looks better than the Switch version of course, though understandably this is a game mainly designed for the Nintendo console, so don’t expect jaw dropping graphics. The game should also be playable on Steam Deck, which is awesome because it feels better to play it through multiple, but short, sessions instead of a few long runs (the grind can become quite annoying)

Dragon Quest Treasures is a really fun spin-off with the same charming art style of the series. I think that those who have already played Dragon Quest XI will probably enjoy this one too, despite having simple mechanics and less story. The selling price is higher than expected though, considering it’s even higher than DQXI-S but the latter offers more content and quality overall. I would undoubtedly recommend it with a good discount, especially if you enjoy treasure-hunting and monster-collecting games.

Review written by Sonic Punk for Zeepond.com

DRAGON QUEST TREASURES Steam Store Page